Favored Auburn Hopes To Be In Tune During Music City Bowl
After Near Upset of Alabama, Auburn Is Favored in 2023 Music City Bowl Betting Odds
The Music City Bowl kicks off this upcoming December, 30th. We’ve got the latest updates on lines, injuries, departures and weather right here:
There aren’t many bowl games that have seen more line movement than the Music City Bowl.
Auburn opened as 1.5-point favorites but when news broke that quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa was opting out of the game, that changed everything. Auburn is now a seven-point favorite.
The Moneyline for Auburn moved from -128 to -245 and Maryland’s odds of winning the game outright went from +108 to +203.
The total is now at 47.5. It opened at 48.5 and went as high as 50.5.
Auburn’s secondary took a hit with DJ James and Nehemiah Pritchett turning their focus toward the 2024 NFL Draft. the good news is that starting safety Jaylin Simpson, who has been slowed by a hamstring issue, could play.
Defensive lineman Marcus Harris joins James and Pritchell as key defensive players not taking part in the Music City Bowl.
Harris led all Auburn defensive linemen with 40 tackles. He also had 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks. James and Pritchett combined for 13 pass breakups and three interceptions.
The biggest recent news for Auburn in the transfer portal is that quarterback Robby Ashford is staying put.
Ashford threw for 1613 yards and ran for another 709 as a freshman. However, his numbers dropped to 145 passing yards and 217 yards on the ground after the arrival of former Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne.
Receiver Ja’Varrius Johnson, who is second on the Tigers with 347 receiving yards, is still in the transfer portal.
Other than the news that Tagovailoa is opting out of the game for Maryland, other player news to consider is that cornerback Tarheel Still is also out of the game.
The latest Maryland player to hit the transfer portal is running back Antwain Littleton. He wasn’t much of a factor late in the regular season with 28 rushing yards in his last five games.
The Big Ten has won its last two Music City Bowls with Purdue topping Tennessee 48-45 in overtime in 2021 and Iowa shutting out Kentucky 21-0 in 2022.
Auburn defeated Wisconsin 28-14 in the 2003 Music City Bowl with the Tigers favored by three points and rolled to a 63-14 win against Purdue in 2018 as 3.5-point favorites. This will be the first appearance in the Music City Bowl for Maryland.
Now, check out the rest of the Music City Bowl preview, originally published on December 8.
A Contrast Of Style Could Make For An Intriguing Music City Bowl Matchup
Other bowl matchups might be getting more buzz, but the showdown between Maryland and Auburn could be a compelling clash. According to the 2023 Music City Bowl betting odds, Auburn is favored in the first meeting between the programs since 1983.
Both teams nearly made national late in the regular season with what would have been huge upsets and NCAAF scores that would have shocked the college football universe.
Auburn was less than a minute from handing Alabama a loss in the Iron Bowl that would have knocked the Crimson Tide out of the national championship picture.
Maryland headed into the fourth quarter trailing Michigan by just five points late in the regular season.
Auburn has won two of the three previous meetings with the last matchup coming in 1983.
The college football betting lines list Auburn as the 2.5-point favorite. The line opened with the Tigers favored by 1.5 points.
Maryland was tied for eighth in the odds of winning the Big Ten title coming into the season according to the NCAAF rankings and finished seventh in the conference standings. Auburn was seventh in the odds of winning the SEC championship and ended up as one of four teams tied for the eighth-best mark in SEC play.
Music City Bowl
Tigers vs Terrapins 
Day/Time:
Records: Auburn 6-6 vs Maryland 7-5
Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
Streaming: ABC, ESPN+
Tigers Roar In the Red Zone
Wondering what the biggest difference between the 2022 and 2023 Auburn teams might be? A good place to start is the bend but don’t break mentality on defense.
A season ago, no SEC team allowed a higher percentage of scores and touchdowns when the opposing team drove into the red zone than the Tigers.
This year, they lead the SEC in those categories. Keep that in mind when looking at the 2023 Music City Bowl betting odds.
After allowing 31 touchdowns and field goals on 46 red-zone drives by the other team, the Tigers have surrendered 21 touchdowns on 41 red-zone drives. That number ranks 23rd nationally and 12th among teams from Power-5 conferences.
Auburn has covered against the Las Vegas odds in four of its last five games.
Departures & Injuries
Defensive lineman Mosiah Nasili-Kite (10 tackles in five games) is out with a biceps injury for Auburn.
Defensive linemen Enyce Sledge and Stephen Johnson, edge rusher Stephen Sings (5 tackles), safety Marquise Gilbert, receivers Malcolm Johnson (6 catches) and Jyaire Shorter and tight end Tyler Fromm are in the transfer portal.
For Maryland, running back Ramon Brown and receiver Ryan Manning are questionable while linebackers Neeo Avery and Dylan Gooden, receivers Ricardo Cooper, Josh Richards and Leon Haughton, tight end Thomas McCluskey, offensive lineman Deandre Duffus and running back Nolan Ray are out.
Linebacker Jaishawn Barham (37 tackles, three sacks) is in the transfer portal.
Tau Looks To Lead Maryland To Another Bowl Win
While Auburn has a defense that has helped to compensate for a mediocre offense, the opposite is true for Maryland.
Taulia Tagovailoa joins Seth Henigan of Memphis as the only Football Bowl Subdivision player to throw for more than 3000 yards in each of the last three seasons. Will that be enough for Maryland to defy the 2023 Music City Bowl betting odds?
Maryland is 12th nationally in passing attempts per game and 14th in points per game in the first quarter of games.
In the seven wins, Maryland has outscored its opponents 77-34 in the first quarter with Tagovailoa throwing seven touchdown passes and running for two others.
The total has gone over in four of Maryland’s last five games.
Can Maryland Reverse A Troubling Trend?
Maryland has not done well recently as the underdog, going 1-7 outright in those games. Auburn has won 10 of its last 11 games when listed as the favorite.
There are many more injury concerns for Maryland than for Auburn and that is something to consider heading into a rare matchup between the Terrapins and Tigers.
Maryland has covered in just one of its three games this NCAAF season as the underdog. Auburn was 3-3 against the college football odds as the favorite this season.
Maryland is going after its third straight college bowl win while Auburn has lost its last three bowl games.
Maryland has allowed more points in the fourth quarter than in any other quarter this season.
Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne has struggled against elite competition this season, posting passer ratings of 78.35, 89.42 and 74.66 against ranked teams.
Seven of Maryland’s games went over the total this season with five of the contests played by the Tigers landing over the total. The total is set at 50.5 for this NCAAF matchup after opening at 48.5.
Four of the last Auburn games with a total of 50 or higher ended up going under that total. Seven of the last 12 contests for Maryland with a total of at 50 finished over the total so something will have to give in the Music City Bowl.
For NCAAF betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
